Dulce Novelas (Sweet Stories)
by LauraBrittany
Summary: Santana Lopez is dealing with the repercussions of letting her BIG secret out. Now she is stuck working at her family's bookstore doing things she never would have thought she would, including starting a weekly story time, where she is in charge of reading to a group of children. Will one special guest author help get her back on track and capture her heart in the process?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: When It Rains, It Pours

Your body has been glued to this chair for a while now. Your eyes have been continuously studying the clock on the wall across from you. You have been stuck here in this position for the past two hours. Two hours of your life that you wish more than anything you could have back.

You should be in the studio recording songs for your new album. Should be, you think, but know that's impossible since you are currently banned from setting foot there.

You scoff and shake your head attempting to remember the events of last week. Even though certain aspects are still a bit fuzzy in your mind, you are acutely aware of the moment things started going downhill.

You remember drinking quite a lot of alcohol that night. You remember your run in with your music producer and his "friend of a friend." You remember the way this man looked you up and down, staring way too long at your chest and ass.

You remember thinking how uncomfortable you felt in his presence. You tried separating yourself from him, but, at some part of the night, he found you and tried to "woo" you.

After that, things become a bit clearer. You remember pouring your martini over his head after he commented about wanting to "put his hands all over your body."

That is when things went from bad to worse. You poked him with your finger, got all up in his face, and with your best Lima Heights Adjacent attitude announced that you were a huge, raging lesbian.

You were so proud of sticking up for yourself, that you forgot that part of your life was supposed to remain a secret. Your producer did not want that factor to affect the sales of your music. He had asked you to keep it hidden from the world, going as far as telling you that you needed to be seen out and about with men.

So, to say you had let the cat out of the bag was an understatement. Everyone at the party was stunned into silence. Your producer quickly tried to cover up for you by saying you were just joking around. It was his damage control that made you slap him across the face and walk out of the party with your head held high.

Unfortunately, news of what happened reached the media within hours of the party coming to an end. You were in a lot of trouble, professionally and personally.

Which brings you back to the present day and why you are currently sitting at the front register of your family's bookstore. Your parents thought it would be a change of scenery for you; your father going as far as claiming it would "be beneficial for your health and well-being". However, you are completely bored and trying to plan your escape.

You are just about to get up from your seat and make a run for it when your Abuela walks in from the back room.

"Dios mío, Santana. Stop being lazy and make yourself useful."

You roll your eyes, "Oh, please, Abuela...this is so stupid! No one has even come through here all morning. This place is like a ghost town. I don't know how it has stayed in business all these years."

"Escúchame, "this place" you are referring to is this family's pride and joy."

"Lo siento, Abuela. I'm just having a tough time adjusting to things."

"Oh, mi amor…"

You don't expect the hug she wraps you up in, but you bask in it because you need her comfort right now.

"I told you a long time ago to always stay true to yourself, Santana. You should never change who you are because of someone else."

You release yourself from the hug and laugh at her words. "Yeah, look where that got me."

She takes your cheek in her hand, "For what it's worth, I'm proud of you, Santana."

You smile, the first one of the day. "Gracias, Abuela."

"De nada! Now, let's make this place a little more inviting. Si?"

You nod your head in agreement before standing and making your way over towards the windows.

"These could use a good cleaning," you point out.

Your abuela walks over to where you are and stares at the windows. "Well, why are you just standing there? Go clean them!"

"Yes, ma'am."

You realize how much things have changed in just a few years. You used to love coming here to Dulce Novelas. You would walk up and down these aisles searching for the perfect book to lose yourself in. Things seemed so much simpler then.

This bookstore was your safe haven for so long. Yet, when you decided to pursue your music career, you lost touch with this part of your life. You figured you outgrew it, when, in reality, you longed to have that safety back in your life.

You yearned for it.

Just as you finish wiping the last window clean, the door opens and chimes alerting you to someone's arrival.

"Where are you, Lopez?" you hear before knowing instantly whom the voice belongs to.

"What's up, Quinn?" you say, walking towards the front of the store.

"You have dug yourself quite a big hole, Santana. I don't know how you expect me to get you out of this."

"Quinn, it's your job as my PR manager to get me out of difficult and humiliating situations."

"Well, this is one of those times where I am at a loss for what to do. It's everywhere, Santana. It's all over the Internet and all over the news. Everyone knows you're a lesbian."

"Well thank God for small miracles. At least I don't have to pretend to be attracted to disgusting pigs anymore."

"Santana this is serious. Your record label is this close to letting you go" she exclaims pinching her pointer finger and thumb together to make a small hole.

You sigh and hold your head in defeat. You never thought it would reach _that_ point.

"Ah, Quinn, I thought I heard you come in," your mother says entering the store from the back office.

"Hi, Maribel. I'm sorry to barge in here like this. I just needed to be up front with Santana about the mess she has created for herself."

"Listen, Quinn, with all due respect this isn't the time or the place for this. Santana is still trying to cope with everything. She needs her best friend, not her PR manager."

Quinn looks at you and sees the uncertainty and sadness in your eyes. "I'm sorry, I…I was just trying to do my job."

"Well, we appreciate that, Quinn," my father says, appearing out of the back room. "Santana realizes she will have to pay the consequences for her actions, whatever those might be. However, she also needs some assistance from you on where she goes from here. How exactly do you plan on putting my daughter's life back together?"

Quinn looks from your parents back to you. "I…um…I have a few suggestions."

"We're all ears…" your father assures putting his arm around you.

"Well, I'm thinking that we need to show the world a softer, calmer side of Santana. Right now, people think she is an alcoholic with anger management problems."

"WHAT?" you scream.

"Santana, cállate!" your father scolds.

You hate being treated like a child. You are twenty-two years old. You can take care of this yourself. Yet, you know better than to talk back to your father. You look towards Quinn and tell her to continue.

"As I was saying, we need to prove that Santana does not have anger issues. In order for us to do that, Santana has to open up and show the world she has a good head on her shoulders and a kind heart."

"I agree wholeheartedly," your father says.

You shake your head in annoyance. "I'm not going to become Miss Goodie-two-shoes. This is who I am, if people don't like it, too bad."

"Mija, I know this isn't fair, but, I think you need to do this in order for you to get people back on your side."

"Whatever, fine, what is it that you want me to do Quinn?"

She looks skeptical, but speaks anyways, "I think we should incorporate Dulce Novelas into your comeback. I think the bookstore should start a children's hour or story time."

You parents look to each other before directing their attention towards you, "Santana, what do you think about that?"

"Okay. I just don't understand how that has anything to do with me?" you say with a perplexed look on your face.

"You would be in charge of it Santana. You would pick stories to read to the children and show people your caring, nurturing side."

You look at Quinn in disbelief before you start laughing uncontrollably. "That's a really good joke, Quinn. Seriously, you had me there for a minute."

You move about and walk towards the back of the store.

"I'm going to make some coffee. Excuse me."

As you open the door and start to proceed down the hallway, you hear Quinn say, "I hope she knows I'm not joking about this."

You stop before thinking, "No fucking way!"

* * *

_Lord Tubbington knew he could crack the code. He was a genius like that. He knew all it took was putting the pieces of the puzzle back together. He would go to Sugar and let her know exactly who was behind the case of the missing jewels._

_When he arrived back home, through his secret hole in the side of the house, Lord Tubbington sought out to find Sugar. He told her everything, from how he found jewels in the grass leading to Mr. Fribbit's house to how he followed him around all day, watching his every move. He even told her about the secret room in Mr. Fribbit's house where he was keeping all the other jewels he had stolen. _

_Sugar was so impressed with Lord Tubbington's sleuthing skills that she wasted no time telling her dad the case was solved. Lord Tubbington received an extra bowl of Smarties that night and he made sure he ate every last one._

You put your pen down and smile at the finished product. You just wrote the ending to your latest Lord Tubbington adventure. You are beyond excited. It is such a fulfilling feeling for you.

You can't wait to show Holly. Speaking of, you are now five minutes late for a meeting with her. You quickly pack up your things and run to her office.

You knock twice on her door before hearing her say, "Come in."

"Ah, Brittany, so good to see you, sweet cheeks."

"You too, Holly. I love your sweater."

"Oh, thank you, doll face."

She directs you to take a seat across from her. "So, have you finished book eight?"

You smile brightly. "Yes, and I can tell you right now that you're going to love this new adventure!"

"Awesome! I can't wait to read it."

You hand it over to her and watch as she clips it together before setting it aside on her desk.

She looks towards you again, "Now, we need to decide what new mischief Lord Tubbington is going to get himself into. Why don' t you pitch book number nine to me."

All the confidence you just had is deflated just like that. You hate when you have to pitch your ideas to Holly Holliday. She is the most powerful and famous children's book publisher in the world. It scares you sometimes, especially when you have to speak eloquently about your work with her.

"Oh, okay… Well, I think it's time Lord Tubbington and Sugar go on a vacation somewhere. They need to crack a case that's maybe overseas. I was thinking they could travel to the North Pole and help Santa locate some missing toys. I think kids would really like to see a Christmas story with Lord Tubbington. The illustrators could dress him in sweaters and string lights from him. It would be really fun!"

Holly smiles at you. "I love your excitement, Brittany. We have to remember, though, your stories need to focus on Lord Tubbington's awesome mystery solving. The pictures don't tell the story, the words do."

You frown at her words because it's definitely not the truth. "Actually, Holly, I think you're wrong. The words depend on the pictures to bring the story to life."

"Well, that very well may be, but you just focus on writing the story, okay, love bug?"

It makes you sad when people don't see the world as you do. You wish you could illustrate your own stories. Sometimes the pictures make you feel so disconnected from what you wrote that you just want to scream. You don't, though, because Holly is a professional. She knows what is best, even if that means having your heart broken.

"Okay," you say before standing up.

"I'll expect a rough draft on my desk in about a week, sweet stuff."

"Mmhm, no problem. Have a good day, Holly."

You walk out of the office in need of some fresh air. You take out your phone and text your friend, Tina asking her to meet you for lunch.

Its days like this that you seek her for reassurance. She's the only one who understands.

You sit on a bench outside the building and wait for Tina to make her way down.

"Hey you," she says when she finally approaches.

"Hey, Tina."

"Why do you look so gloomy, Brittany?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I just had a meeting with Holly."

"From the looks of it, I'd say things didn't go very well," Tina implies.

"No, it was fine. She just still doesn't understand how bad I want to illustrate my own stories."

"I'm sorry," Tina says hugging you to her side.

"It's okay."

"Let's go get some wraps and figure out a way to make you turn that frown upside down."

You smile, "Please?"

"Mmhm, come on… let's walk and talk."

You fall into stride with her talking about what else has happened all day.

"I finished book eight!" you say enthusiastically.

"Brittany, that's wonderful! I'm telling you, your series of books is like the next big thing. Kids of all ages love Lord Tubbington."

"I know. So do I," you say with a smirk.

"Well of course you do, silly, he's like your baby! Anyways, I have been thinking and right now might be the perfect time to get you away from the office and into bookstores. I want you to do some meet and greets with fans. I think they would love it! Maybe you could also read one of your stories to a group of children somewhere."

"Oh my God, I would love that, Tina! You know, it may actually be a really nice distraction for me right now."

"Yeah? Good, I'll see what I can set up, okay?"

You smile before pulling Tina into a hug, "You're the best!"

* * *

You're stirring your fresh cup of coffee when your Abuela finds you.

"Santana…"

"No, Abuela…just, no!"

"This is a very good opportunity for you, mi amor."

"It's bullshit, that's what it is!"

"Watch your language, missy!"

"Lo siento. It's just…why in the world would Quinn think I'd want to be around bratty kids? That would give me even more anger issues."

"Santana, are you listening to yourself right now? You sound crazy."

"I just want my life back, Abuela! I want to sing!"

"I know, mi amor. I know."

She holds you again. It's something you are beginning to become familiar with and love.

"If you don't want to do this for yourself, then, please, do it for your fans. Do it for me."

You sigh before shaking your head "yes" into her shoulder. She holds you that much tighter.

When you let go, you set out to go find Quinn.

She's walking the aisles of the store.

"Okay, Fabray, I'm in. I'll do it."

"What?" she says apparently shocked.

"Just tell me what to do before I change my mind."

"Uhh…well, nothing, yet. I'll set things up so that the bookstore will have story time a few afternoons every week. We should go all out the first week, though. I'll see if I can hunt down a famous author."

"Fine, whatever, you have to do… just do it."

"Do you like mysteries?"

"I don't know, Quinn, why?"

"Oh, just wondering…I think I have the perfect author in mind. I'm going to go see if I can get into contact with her people. I'll let you know what happens."

She walks out of the bookstore without another word.

"God, what did I just get myself into?"

* * *

"Hello?"

"Hi, is this Tina Chang?"

"Yes, that's me. May I ask who is calling?"

"Hello, Ms. Chang, I'm Quinn Fabray, personal manager for the singer, Santana Lopez."

"Ah, Santana Lopez, the newly out and proud lesbian of Hollywood."

"Yes, that's the one. Listen, Santana is taking time off from singing and working at her family's bookstore, Dulce Novelas. She had a brilliant idea to start a weekly story time for kids and would be honored if your client, Ms. Pierce, would read one of her stories the first week."

"It's interesting that you thought of my client, Ms. Fabray, because I was just informing her today how I would like to see her doing just that, reading her stories to children and participating in meet and greets."

"Wonderful. So, it looks like this opportunity will be beneficial to both parties, then."

"It seems so. When would this story time take place?"

"Well, we are pretty flexible, but I was thinking two days from now, Wednesday at 11:00 a.m.? Does that work for your client?"

"That's perfect. I will inform Ms. Pierce and we will see you and Ms. Lopez Wednesday at 11."

"Awesome, thank you so much. Have a great evening!"

"You, also."

* * *

You receive a text message right before you are about to leave the bookstore for the night.

**Google Brittany S. Pierce. She is the author of the newly famous Lord Tubbington Adventure Series. She will be attending your first story time Wednesday at 11 a.m. Do your homework!**

You let out an exasperated groan. It's bad enough that you are going to be in the presence of a handful of kids, but now add an old woman on top of that.

"Alright let's just get this over with," you say out loud to yourself.

You saunter over to the bookstore's computer and type in the name Brittany S. Pierce.

Your eyes do a double take at the screen in front of you. For one thing, this Brittany S. Pierce is not an old lady, she's twenty-three. Oh, and there's one other minor factor…she's insanely beautiful.

"Christ…I'm screwed," you say, as you throw your head down onto the keyboard.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: A Land of Enchantment

You have been pacing back and forth outside the entrance of Dulce Novelas for the past fifteen minutes. Every time you move towards the door handle reality strikes you. How did you get here?

It's a simple question, but the answer is somewhat complicated. You hate how your life changed in the blink of an eye.

You kick the door with your foot and yell out in frustration, "WHY ME?"

"Hey!" you hear being shouted at you.

You turn around to look the unwanted visitor in the eye.

"What did that door ever do to you?"

"Quinn, I am in no mood right now, so just leave me alone!" you say, turning away from her stare.

"What crawled up your ass?" she asks.

You look at her again, poised and composed. She is the reflection of professionalism.

"How can you stand there so calm, cool, and collected?" you question.

"It's not that difficult, Santana. I've been doing this for three years now."

"Yeah, well, it must be nice to be you."

You sigh out loud, annoyance clearly written upon your face. This is Quinn standing in front of you, the same Quinn who has been your best friend for the past fifteen years. She knows you better than anyone, probably even better than you know yourself.

So, it's no secret that she can see right through you. In fact, you know that she knows you are just projecting your frustration.

"You going to tell me what's going on or just continue kicking the door until you break a toe?" she asks, moving closer towards where you stand on the sidewalk.

"I'm going to screw this up!" you exclaim, fear laced inside your words.

"No, you aren't. You can do this, Santana. I know you can."

"Quinn, just stop! You know how horrible I am with kids."

"You aren't horrible with kids, Santana. You just lack certain…um…skills."

You scoff at Quinn's choice of words. "Seriously, Quinn? I lack all skills involving children. I'm surprised these parents are even leaving their children in my care."

"Oh, please, Santana, all you have to do is stand there and watch a small group of children sit on a rug and listen to a story. It's not like someone is handing you their newborn baby and expecting you to know exactly what to do."

"QUINN!" you scream in exasperation. "You are not helping!"

"Okay," she says, becoming serious. "I'm sorry. It's just that you are freaking out over nothing here, Santana. This is not that big of a deal. I know you are going to walk through this door and kick ass. You have this in the bag."

"You think so?" you say, timidly.

"I know so. However, if things don't turn out the way you expect, you have many other chances to get this right. You just have to remind yourself that it's not going to happen right away."

"I know," you say, relaxing your shoulders.

Quinn always knew exactly what to say to help clear your head from all negative thoughts.

"Feeling better?" she asks.

"Yes, thank you."

"Don't mention it."

You take one more deep breath. It's now or never.

"Come on," Quinn says. "Let's get this show on the road."

You can only hope that this story time goes by as fast as humanly possible.

* * *

You were never a stickler, except when it came to your writing. Normally, you wouldn't care that you were running late, but this morning something felt different.

You couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was, but it was definitely affecting you.

Your bedroom was a disaster. Clothes were strewn all over the place. You were trying to find the perfect outfit, something that would help you make a good impression with both the parents and the staff at _Dulce Novelas._

You took another shirt off its hanger, throwing it on over your head. It was light blue with short sleeves and had ruffles. It really brought out the color of your eyes. It wasn't exactly what you were going for, but decided at this point it was doable.

You were going through a pile of pants when there was a tap on your bedroom door.

"Brittany? Can I come in?"

"Uh…yeah, sure."

Tina walked in sporting a sleeveless white shirt and black skirt. She could seriously pull off any look.

"How is it you always know exactly what to wear?" you ask.

"Trust me, I don't. I chose this on my fourth try."

"Yeah? Well, I'm on try like one-hundred and eight."

She snickered, "Why? You never have a problem finding something to wear. You always just throw something on and make it work."

"I know!" you say, irritation in your tone. "I don't know what's wrong. I just feel strange."

"Strange how?" she said walking over to sit on your bed.

"I want to make a good impression. I want people to take me seriously. You know what happens to me in public situations, Tina. You know my words get all jumbled and I make an idiot out of myself."

"Brittany, stop!" It wasn't like Tina to raise her voice. "Come here, sit down…" she said.

You make your way over to your bed and sit beside her.

"You are NOT an idiot. So, why don't you just tell me what's going on? You're like freaking out right now."

"I don't know. I think I'm just nervous."

"Why? You're going to be in your element. You'll be reading to little kids and taking them on one of Lord Tubbington's amazing adventures. All you have to do is smile and be yourself. People are going to love you."

"You don't know that. People rarely take me seriously."

"Well, I know for a fact that you are going to shine. You were made for this. You were put here to share your stories and make people smile. That's exactly what you are going to do today."

"Speaking of today, I don't even know what story to read!" you say rising from your bed. "Should I read the first one in the series in case some of the kids are newbies or should I read my favorite one?"

You pace back and forth, pondering what book you should bring with you.

"Seriously, Brittany. I've never seen you like this. You're having a mini-meltdown. You need to just stay calm and breathe!"

"Okay!" you yell.

Tina is taken aback. She crosses her arms and moves towards you. "You need to focus. I don't know what has gotten into you, but you need to stop thinking so hard about things. Just figure it out, okay?"

"Okay," you say a bit calmer.

She turns to leave, but before she does she looks towards you again, "If I was in your shoes, I'd bring the book I had the most fun writing. That's just me, though."

"Thanks, Tina," you say. "That's actually really helpful."

She nods. "Meet me downstairs in ten minutes, and, Brittany, put some pants on, for goodness sake!"

You look down your torso to see your bare legs and pink Power Ranger underwear. You actually laugh out loud, "Ha-ha, somehow I don't think showing up in my underwear would make a good impression."

* * *

You're in the car on the way to the bookstore. You take in the scenery around you. You've never been on this side of town, even though it's only twenty minutes away from your apartment.

"So, do you know what Dulce Novelas means?" Tina asks beside you.

"Duh, I'm an expert of the Spanish language."

"Okay, I'm just checking," she says holding her hands up in defense.

"Are the people who own the book store Hispanic?"

"Yes, they are. Carmelita Lopez was the previous owner, but a few years ago she signed everything over to her son, Antonio. So, now he and his wife, Maribel, own it."

"That's nice…it sounds very family-oriented."

"It is. We are actually sort of doing the Lopez's daughter a favor by showing up."

"What do you mean?" you question.

"Well, she's a recording artist with the last name Lopez…"

"Wait, what?" you say, gasping in shock. "Santana Lopez is their daughter?"

"Yeah, she is the one in charge of story time."

"Why in the world would _she_ be a part of that?"

"Well, my guess is she needed to be seen doing something out of the norm. Her PR manager probably wanted to smooth things over a bit."

"I feel bad for her. Everyone should be able to embrace his or her inner unicorn. Why they want her to hide who she really is makes no sense."

Your nerves had subsided a bit, but now you were worried about making an ass out of yourself in front of Santana Lopez.

* * *

There are kids everywhere! It is complete mayhem. Kids are climbing on tables and chairs and running up and down the aisles of books screaming at the top of their lungs.

This is so not up your alley. You just want the floor to open up and swallow you whole. You are really going to kill Quinn for involving you in this.

Parents have been showing up nonstop for the past forty-five minutes with their children in tow. You are pretty sure you counted fifteen little monsters in total.

To make matters worse, you are supposed to be gathering all the children onto the newly purchased alphabet rug in the corner of the store. As expected, that's not going according to plan.

"Sweetheart…" your mother says wrapping her arm around you and putting on her best fake smile. "Why are you standing here watching chaos unfold? Do something, please!"

"Mamá, they won't listen to me…"

"Ah dios mio, Santana, you need to show people that you are in control of the situation here!"

"This isn't easy for me…you know me and kids are not a good combination."

"You need to at least try, Santana. Please!"

"Sí, mama."

You look around before walking over to a few kids. "Uh…hi guys. We're going to get ready to listen to a story. So how about you go over to the rug over there, okay?"

"I'm not a guy, I'm a pretty princess!" a little girl, exclaims. "Mommy…." she says running off.

"How about you, bud…do you want to listen to a story?"

"No! I want candy!" the little boy screams, before kicking you in the shin.

Seriously? People want to know why you can't stand children? Let's present exhibit A and exhibit B."

You're seriously going to need a hard drink after this.

You see Quinn enter the store from the back. You start making your way over towards her with every intention of calling this whole thing off.

That's when you look harder and see there are two other people with her. One of who just happens to be the author, Brittany S. Pierce. She's even more breathtaking in person.

You stand up taller, determined to accomplish the task of getting the children over to the rug. You manage to sweet talk two four-year old girls over to it and ask them to bring some of their friends with them.

You still have ten other children you need to round up and by the looks of it it's not going to be easy.

Two bruised feet and one bruised ankle later you've had enough. You have officially collected only six kids on the rug.

You're tired and your feet hurt from being stepped on.

You want to just give up.

"Uh, hi…" you hear from behind you.

You turn around surprised to see the guest author standing there.

"Hi," you say dumbfounded as you stare into her cerulean blue eyes.

"I'm Brittany Pierce…I write the Adventures of Lord Tubbington series.

"Ni-nice to meet you. I'm Santana…Santana Lopez."

She laughs timidly, "I know…"

"Of course you do…" you say with a little more edge to your tone than you wanted.

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that…but, um…I was just wondering if you needed any help getting the children over to the rug."

You ponder for a while. You don't want to seem like you don't have control over the situation, yet, at the same time, you really could use some assistance.

"Sure, knock yourself out."

She looks around, taking in all the kid's whereabouts and, then, she simply claps her hands three times.

"One, two, three…eyes on me…"

Every single child looks up in her direction. It's amazing. It's like she put a spell on them.

"Very good," she says. "I need everyone to go over to the alphabet rug because I know a secret and I can't wait to tell you all."

Almost instantly, all the children run over to the rug and sit down.

It makes you incredibly happy, but far be it from you to let your guard down.

You walk over towards her. "I could have done that, you know."

She just looks over at you, donning a small smile and says, "Of course."

The two of you make your way over towards the rug. You watch Brittany sit down where the children are. You really don't want to be that close to them, but you do want this to go well, so, you sit down on the rug, too.

Brittany looks at you and you take it as your cue.

"Hi everyone…my name is Santana," you say, nervously. "I'm glad you could all make it. Today is the first story time here at _Dulce Novelas _and you are all in for a special treat. I would like to introduce our special guest author Miss Brittany S. Pierce."

There is a round of applause from the parents and the children all become eager to see what is going to happen next.

* * *

"Hey there, my name is Brittany and I have a BIG secret."

"What is it?" one of the girls on the rug asks.

"Well, who knows who Lord Tubbington is?"

Many of the kids raise their hands or scream out, "I do!"

"Wow, that's almost all of you. Okay, so, what if I told you I'm the person who created him…"

All the kids become speechless.

"That's right. I'm the person who writes all the Lord Tubbington adventures."

"Are you going to read one today?" a little boy asks.

"Of course I am…in fact, I chose to read the adventure I had the most fun writing."

Tina walks over and hands you a book. You show the children the cover and read, "Lord Tubbington and the Mysterious Unicorn."

_Lord Tubbington was always getting into trouble. Sometimes he blamed it on other people. His owner, Sugar, didn't know what to do with him. _

_ One day, Sugar found Lord Tubbington lying in a puddle of Sherbet ice cream. When she asked him what happened, Lord Tubbington just shook his head and said, "It was the unicorn!"_

_ Sugar just laughed and thought, "You silly cat. Unicorns don't exist." Oh, how wrong Sugar was._

You're captivated by everything that is Brittany S. Pierce. Her voice gives you chills. You can see how intrigued the children are just by looking at their faces. They are in love with Lord Tubbington and his crazy antics.

You have to admit, this story is pretty brilliant. The way Brittany paints the picture of every event is so imaginative and creative. You've never seen or heard anything like it.

It's completely enchanting. You feel as if you could lose yourself in the land she has made up.

You don't even flinch when the little girl next to you moves to sit in your lap. Although you have no experience with kids, you can't help but smile. She smiles back at you and lays her head back on your chest.

You hate how soft this is making you. You're so used to being tough and going all Lima Heights on people. Yet, there is something about the way Brittany reads that soothes and relaxes you.

When she reads the last page the children start clapping and calling out their favorite parts. It amazes you how attentive they were. They can recall almost the whole story.

It's then that you realize Brittany has quite the gift. You know that Quinn picked the perfect person to be here today.

* * *

Afterwards, Brittany sits at a table signing copies of the first book in the Lord Tubbington series. The parents and children get pictures taken with her.

For some reason you find yourself walking towards the line. You don't know what it is about her, but you feel like you need more.

Her PR manager, Tina, eyes you curiously before shaking her head in confusion and handing you a book.

When your turn comes, you hand her the book and wait patiently. She looks up at you and in the sweetest voice asks, "What would you like written, Santana?"

Your name sounds even more beautiful coming from her mouth. It makes you blush thinking about it.

"Um…surprise me," you say.

She smiles at you before scribbling something down inside the front cover of the book. A few seconds later, she closes it and hands it to you.

You take it from her, accidentally touching her hand in the process. The touch feels like an electric shock. You feel it start from the tips of your fingers and travel all the way to your heart.

You walk away from the line and look down at the book in your hand. You trace your fingers over the title before flipping it open and reading:

_Santana,_

_ Always be true to yourself. Don't ever let anyone dictate how you should live your life. It's your life, so, live it to the fullest._

_ Brittany_

_P.S. You should smile more often. You look even more beautiful when you do._

You're pretty sure the entire room can hear how loudly your heart just started beating. You can't help but chuckle because with everything you've had to deal with in the past week you deserve something to be happy about.

In fact, maybe just maybe you've found a way out of the super massive black hole you've been finding yourself slipping into.


End file.
